Counting down: NCAA Final Four countdown clock unveiled at Phoenix Sky Harbor

PHOENIX — The countdown is officially on to the tipoff of the NCAA Final Four in the Phoenix area.

Gov. Doug Ducey and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton gathered with the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport to unveil the countdown clock to next year’s Final Four on Thursday.

The clock, which is located in Terminal 4, shows the hours, days and minutes until April 1, 2017, when the NCAA Final Four will start in Glendale.

The clock is a 55-inch high-definition LED screen at the west end of baggage claim in Terminal 4. Dawn Rogers, executive director of PLOC, said her committee has been on the clock for months already preparing for next year’s event.

“It’s really fun to symbolically have the clock running now at the airport and for all the visitors that come through and Phoenicians alike to be reminded that we’re less than a year away to this great event,” she said.

Rogers and members of the PLOC were in Houston earlier this month observing the details of hosting the Final Four. She said, even though Phoenix is still nearly a year away from next year’s tournament, preparations are in full swing.

“We’re just working on different pieces every day as the come,” Rogers said. “We’ll just continue to have events and things that we do throughout the year.”

In June, members of the NCAA will visit the Valley in the first of monthly meetings with the organizing committee. Those meetings will cover security, transportation, hotels and game operations. But Rogers said right now, the biggest point of preparation is the events outside the basketball games at University of Phoenix stadium. There is

Rogers said the biggest point of preparation is the events outside the basketball games, which will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium. There is also discussion on where a possible concert series will be held and a fan fest at the Phoenix Convention Center.

“It’s really the ancillary events outside of the game that are getting our greatest attention right now,” Rogers said.

Rogers said the committee is also hoping for a strong sustainability effort. PLOC is putting together a group led by Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability to focus on that issue.

“We want to use the platform of the Final Four to really educate our community on things like sustainability,” Rogers said.

Ducey is expecting a strong economic boost from the Final Four in Arizona.

“We do know that the state of Arizona and the city of Phoenix will be big winners, both in terms of economic impact and the lasting impression we’ll leave on fans from across the country,” he said.

The college football championship game and the related events held in the Valley back in January injected nearly $275 million into the Arizona economy.

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